Hal Newhouser
Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998) was a professional Major League Baseball pitcher of the 1940s and 1950s. Newhouser was a schoolboy star in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, signed by the hometown Detroit Tigers in at the age of 18. He went up to the major league club before the end of the season and made his debut on September 29 of that year. In , he earned a spot on the Tigers out of spring training and remained with the team until . In his first two full big-league seasons, the young left-hander was plagued with control problems, walking more batters than he struck out while posting records of 9-9 and 9-11. He improved in and , posting excellent ERAs, but still losing more than he won on a team with a weak offense. As World War II got under way, the Tigers moved up in the standings because several of their top players, including Newhouser, were classified as 4-F (ineligible to the drafted). Newhouser was 4-F due to a leaky heart valve; he attempted to join the service anyway but was turned down several times. He blossomed all at once in , becoming a dominant pitcher in wartime baseball. That season, Newhouser rang up a 29-9 record while leading the league in wins and strikeouts (187). His 2.22 ERA was second in the league, as were his 25 complete games and six shutouts. Not coincidentally, the Tigers jumped into contention, finishing second in the American League. Newhouser ended the season by being named MVP. In , he repeated as MVP with what was arguably an even better season. This time, he won the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the American League in wins (25, against nine losses), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (212). He also led the league in innings pitched, games started, complete games and shutouts. Newhouser pitched four innings of relief on the season's final day as Detroit rallied for the pennant. He then won two games in the World Series to help his team to the World Championship, including the deciding seventh game. A year later, many stars came back from the war, and critics predicted that Newhouser wouldn't be as dominant against the "real" major leaguers. But he proved his 1944-45 performance was legitimate by duplicating it in . He went 26-9 with a 1.94 ERA, again leading the league in wins and ERA. He didn't win a third MVP, but he was close, finishing a close second to Ted Williams. Newhouser continued to rate among the game's best pitchers for the next five years. He won 17 games in , led the AL with 21 wins in and rung up an 18-11 mark in . After a 15-13 season in , he hurt his arm and his workload was cut significantly. After being released by the Tigers following the season, Newhouser signed on with the powerful Cleveland Indians and was their top long reliever in , when Cleveland won the pennant. In his final big-league hurrah, he posted a 7-2 mark with an excellent 2.54 ERA, and got to pitch in his second World Series. He ended his career with a record of 207-150 and a 3.06 ERA, marks well in line with many baseball Hall of Fame pitchers. He is the only pitcher ever to win two consecutive MVP awards. In , he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After retirement, Newhouser worked as a scout for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and the Tigers. While with the Astros, Newhouser was credited with discovering Derek Jeter, who the Astros passed for Phil Nevin. He had discovered, as a scout with the Orioles, a Detroit high schooler named Milt Pappas, who would win 209 games in his career—two more than Newhouser, and Dean Chance, of Wooster, Ohio. who would also have a long career. The Tigers retired his number 16 in , and he died a year later following a long illness. See also * 1945 Detroit Tigers season * List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins * Triple Crown * List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions * List of Major League Baseball wins champions * Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time * Major League Baseball titles leaders External links *Hal Newhouser at: **Baseball Hall of Fame **Baseball Library **The Baseball Page **Baseball Reference **The Deadball Era Category:1945 Detroit Tigers World Series Championship Team Category:Hall of Fame Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League ERA champions Category:American League strikeout champions Category:American League wins champions Category:American League Pitching Triple Crown winners Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Cleveland Indians players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball players from Michigan Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:Alexandria Aces players Category:Beaumont Exporters players Category:Starting Pitchers Category:Players Category:Retired